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Outdoor Adventure and Community Service (OACS)

Since 2005, Pitt-Greensburg has offered a unique living environment to those passionate about adventure in the outdoors, as well as community service. The OACS living community provides its members with experiential learning activities in a nontraditional setting. The outdoor adventure component is designed to develop interpersonal and leadership skills; the community service component is designed to instill responsibility and engage students in the community around them. The intended outcome is a more well-rounded, holistic student. Students who join OACS live together in one wing of Westmoreland Hall. But many of our members also reside in other areas of campus, participating as "non-resident" members.

Outdoor Adventure

The Outdoor Adventure component of OACS provides a meaningful way for students to engage in challenging, risk-taking activities in a socially acceptable way. Although the perceived risk in many of these activities is high, the actual risk and danger is low. Members share many exhilarating outdoor experiences with one another throughout the year. In the past, some of those activities have included whitewater rafting, hiking, caving, wilderness survival courses, camping, rock climbing, snowshoeing, snow tubing, paintball, skiing, horseback riding, and more. The calendar of events is planned and implemented by the members themselves; and all activities are challenge-by-choice.

Community Service

The Community Service component of OACS provides its members with an opportunity to give back to the local community through various activities. Providing service to the community is a key trademark of the OACS experience. The community has volunteered with a plethora of nonprofit agencies in the area, ranging from the Westmoreland County Food Bank to the Ronald McDonald House in Pittsburgh. Members are charged with providing valuable service outside of the confines of the Pitt-Greensburg campus.

For more information on the OACS community, you can e-mail us at upg.oacs@gmail.com; or contact any one of the following people: